Phillies history events on December 21
- December 21, 1966 – The acquired pitcher Ruben Gomez from the Veracruz club of the Mexican League as part of a conditional deal. Gomez had spent two seasons with Philadelphia (1959-1960) earlier in his nine-year MLB career. His return to the Phillies would be his final opportunity in the majors.
- December 21, 1981 – The Phillies signed third baseman Mike Schmidt to a six-year contract for $1.2 million per season; at the time Schmidt was already a perennial All-Star and would go on to cement his legacy as one of the franchise’s greatest players.
Phillies personnel born on December 21
- Cy Williams (born 1887) – Outfielder whose major league career spanned before and after World War I; Williams was a powerful left-handed bat and played for the Phillies from 1918 through 1930, leading the National League in home runs three times during that era and four times in his 19 season career. He hit a career-high 41 home runs with the Phillies in 1923 to lead the majors.
- Heinie Heltzel (born 1913) – Infielder/third baseman who played two seasons (1943-1944) in the majors, the second season with the Phillies. In 40 MLB games, Heltzel hit .157.
- John Mayberry Jr. (born 1983) – Outfielder/first baseman who played parts of six seasons with the Phillies (2009-2014) and made his MLB debut on May 23, 2009 against the Yankees and hit a three-run home run off Andy Pettite in the fifth inning of the game.
A DEEPER DIVE… Mike Schmidt’s value in today’s market
Mike Schmidt reached the major leagues in 1972 at a time when baseball economics were still tightly controlled by the reserve clause. Early in his career, contracts were modest by modern standards, even for elite players. When Schmidt signed his first notable long-term deal with the Phillies in the mid-1970s, he was already establishing himself as the game’s premier power-hitting third baseman, yet his salary lagged well behind his value on the field. In 1974, after hitting 36 home runs, Schmidt earned roughly $95,000, which was excellent money for the era but nowhere near star compensation in today’s sense.
The real turning point came after the advent of free agency in 1976. While Schmidt never tested the open market in a traditional sense, the leverage it created reshaped his earning power. By 1977, coming off an MVP season, Schmidt’s salary climbed into the $400,000 range, placing him among the highest-paid players in the National League. Even so, he was still making less than pitchers like Nolan Ryan and hitters like Reggie Jackson, whose free-agent deals reset expectations for superstar pay.
The defining contract of Schmidt’s career came on December 21, 1981, when he signed a six-year deal with the Phillies reportedly worth about $6.6 million, or roughly $1.1 million per year. At the time, this was a landmark agreement. Schmidt instantly became one of the highest-paid position players in baseball, and the deal reflected both his on-field dominance and the Phillies’ desire to keep their franchise icon in place after the 1980 World Series title. For context, the average major league salary in 1981 was under $200,000, meaning Schmidt was earning more than five times the league average.
Compared to his peers, Schmidt’s contract placed him in rare company. Reggie Jackson was earning about $1 million annually with the Yankees, and Pete Rose’s contracts hovered in a similar range later in the decade. Schmidt’s deal was especially notable because it was signed with one team, without free-agent bidding driving the price up. It was a franchise-loyalty contract, reflecting both his stature and the Phillies’ financial limits.
Adjusted for inflation, Schmidt’s 1981 salary of roughly $1.1 million would equal about $3.8 to $4 million per year in today’s dollars. But inflation alone dramatically understates what Schmidt would earn in the modern baseball economy. If a 31-year-old, Gold Glove third baseman with multiple MVPs, elite power, and Hall of Fame credentials were signing a six-year deal today, free agency would push the value far higher. A modern comparison would be players like Nolan Arenado or Manny Machado. Based on recent contracts, Schmidt would reasonably command $30–35 million per year in today’s market, putting a six-year deal in the $180–210 million range, and probably more if signed at peak leverage.
Money, however, never insulated Schmidt from the emotional grind of playing in Philadelphia. His relationship with Phillies fans was famously complicated. Early in his career, he was booed relentlessly, even while leading the league in home runs. Fans questioned his body language, his stoic demeanor, and his strikeouts, often overlooking his historic production. Schmidt internalized the criticism deeply, later admitting that the negativity affected his confidence and mental health. Even as an MVP and World Series champion, he often felt underappreciated, believing fans focused more on his failures than his greatness.
That tension never fully disappeared, but time softened it. As Schmidt aged and eventually retired in 1989, fans gained perspective. Today, he is almost universally regarded as the greatest player in franchise history, but the scars from those years remain evident in his candid reflections about playing in Philadelphia.
After retirement, Schmidt attempted to stay in uniform as a manager in the Phillies’ minor league system. He managed at the Class A level in the early 1990s, hoping to translate his baseball intelligence into leadership. The experience proved frustrating. Schmidt found that teaching fundamentals, managing personalities, and dealing with organizational politics were very different from preparing himself as a player. He also disliked the constant travel and modest pay relative to the pressures of the job. Most importantly, he realized that his intense, self-driven approach did not always resonate with young players still learning the game. After a short stint, he stepped away from managing, choosing instead to contribute as a broadcaster, instructor, and ambassador for the game.
In the end, Mike Schmidt’s contracts tell the story of a superstar who bridged two baseball economies. He was paid like a king for his time, but by modern standards, he was vastly underpaid for his production. His financial legacy, like his emotional one in Philadelphia, reflects both how far the game has come and how singular his career truly was.
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